Florida lawmakers are working on a measure they hope will help the children of incarcerated parents move forward faster. Fort Lauderdale Democratic Representative Patricia Williams has a bill she says would help to map out a plan for parents and their children.

“It does not change the law that protects the children, but it gives the incarcerated parent a possibility of becoming a better parent. While incarcerated they are able to take on an incarcerated case plan load. The child has a case plan and this gives the incarcerated parent a plan to follow while they’re incarcerated,” Williams says.

Officials say thousands of kids in foster care have parents in prison or jail. The goal is to help the kids find a permanent home as quickly as possible, either through re-unification with their parents or adoption.

Should inmates be criminally charged when cell phones are found on their person? In Florida prisons, that can occur. But, in county jails, not so much. During a recent legislative debate, lawmakers discussed a bill making it illegal for local jail inmates to have cell phones within the facilities.

A new government report says the number of children in the U.S. foster care system has increased for the fourth year in a row, due largely to an uptick in substance abuse by parents.

The report, issued annually by the Administration for Children and Families of the Department of Health and Human Services, shows that 437,500 children were in foster care by the end of fiscal year 2016. A year earlier the number was 427,400.